My son wrote me a card that said this: "I loav you, Mom. You're the beast!" Nothing sums me up better. Welcome to the Beast Mom blog!

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate..

School Snippet

The kids’ school year has started off well. We’re ending our first full week. I really like both teachers the kids got this year. But then again, I’ve liked all the teachers at this school so far.

C’s teacher’s philosophy and methods really align with me. She’s goal oriented and makes learning fun. She herself is a fun person. AND, she insists that all the helicopter parents stop doing kids’ homework for them. (Thank goodness some teachers actually SAY this kind of stuff.)

B’s teacher is really different in personality – more reserved. And I like her. She has her thoughts put together and explains things without going overboard. She got some tough questions at the parent meeting last night, and she answered just enough without feeling compelled to defend or overexplain. I admire people who do that well. It shows they have confidence in their plan (and themselves).

I think the kids got teachers that are good matches for them. B likes teachers who explain clearly and not in a hyped up manner. He likes teachers who get to the point and are still kind and calm. C likes teachers who incentivize w/ goals, progress charts, and rewards. Her teacher is very much like that. I think the kids will have a good school year. Of course this means I too can have a good school year.

All parents with school-aged kids know that a bad teacher-child match up means stress and more headaches all year. Thankfully, we’ve not had that experience, but I know some parents who have. Those years were tough on everyone I think, teachers included.

I was talking to a friend about how teachers organize classes every year before school starts. I know our school’s teacher teams get together to arrange classes that they feel will work well. For example, I’ve heard they often put next-door-neighbor kids in different classes, simply to give them opportunities to make new friends rather than favoring the same buddy. I think those kinds of strategies are smart and valid. I agree with them.

And I’m sure teachers talk about “nightmare parents”, the ones they don’t want to deal with. I told my friend I bet teachers joke around about this stuff quite a bit. Maybe they even draw straws to see who gets stuck with so-and-so Parent that no one wants in their hair. I mean, seriously, it has to be true. Not every teacher gets along with every parent. Sometimes you just need a break from an overbearing or high maintenance parent, esp if you’ve taught their older child already. So I can picture teachers very strategically arranging class rosters w/ their teacher teams. And maybe I’m wrong and all teachers are happily willing to work with anyone. But I doubt it.

I hope I’m not a nightmare parent. I don’t think I am.

Anyway, that’s a bit about the start of school. I know the grandparents are curious. Maybe I can get a first day of school photo up here later. I have to run at the moment…

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate..